Kim Bach . Org

Today October 12th-2007 is the day of the cultural event of the year in Copenhagen, “The Night of Culture” or Kulturnatten, and I’ve just finished “shopping” for events.

You can build a custom program on the web-site, unfortunately it doesn’t have a URL or a feed so that I can share it directly with you.

This year it seems like my theme will be Passion, Science and Christianity. Below is a list of events that I’ll try to mange to attend - it will be tough, and I’ll let the “Instincts be my shepherd” and stay for long in the places where I feel good vibes, and I’m very confident in my instincts.

It does look like my fix-points this year will be Kastellet, Botanisk Have, Humanistisk Fakultet, Glyptoteket and Marmorkirken. The previous years I had an extensive program as well, but I ended up spending hours at the Copenhagen HQ of The Danish Refugee Council, but since they’re not open this year, I might manage more.

Really there’s only ONE event I’m not going to miss, and that is Ars Nova singing English renaissance music in Marmorkirken - last year they were spectacular, and this year they’re issuing a new CD on the Kulturnat, I’ll be first in line to get a copy.

From the previous years I’ll HIGHLY recommend the Exhibition at Thorvaldsen’s Museum, the lights are turned off, and the statues are illuminated, it’s just fantastic, for me it’s been there done that this year however.

Rundetaarn is always too crowded, and the midnight concert this year is just too mainstream for my taste, but I loved it two years ago, and the storage room above the church is just wonderful.

So I wish you all a great Kulturnat, you just have to love Copenhagen for having the energy to set up such a massive event. And strange things happen on the Kulturnat, if you just let your senses guide you, and while you wait for my next blogpost, you can read about my experiences of the last two years here:

• Kulturnatten 2006: Is that a FireWire cable in your pocket or are you just happy to see me
• Kulturnatten 2005

Events I hope to cover in 2007 - prioritised order - but my full intended program is 4 pages long:

• Shantysang i Kanonkælderen - I missed that last year, but that only let to the very strange story that involved a FireWire cable and the Architect School that you can read above, only goes to show that you should just let your senses guide you!
• Opstigning i Mastekranen på Nyholm
• Længslernes Nat
• ZEITGEIST
• Kulturnatten i Kastellet
• Botaniske Have ved nat
• Skriv med fjerpen og blæk
• Monstre og dæmoner i oldtidens Ægypten
• Kolbøttemand, lysshow og rundvisninger!
• Natmusik i Kastelskirken
• Gudstjeneste om tro og viden
• Linné på Botanisk Museum
• Katedralernes mystik og det gotiske
• Dans i Natten
• Lyd og Lys i natten
• Andagt med musik og lys
• B-samfundet - et alternativ til 8-16 samfundet

Yesterday was my regular day in Lektiehjælpen i Mjølnerparken, you might have forgotten, since it’s been a while since I wrote something about my work there.

Yesterday we had a rare discussion about religion, and it was triggered by this comment:

“Real followers of Islam don’t dance”

I know that it wasn’t to be taken too serious, and that I overreacted by hearing such a misguided statement, but I beg to differ. It really doesn’t get truer to Islam than Maâllem Mokhtar Gania & Gnawa Sufi group, and since Islam Muslim translates to “devotee”, a lot of dancers qualify for the title of being real followers, at least in my book.

On September 29th, there will be Sufi Ensemble performing in Stefanskirken, Nørrebrogade 191. The concert with Maâllem Mokhtar Gania & Gnawa Sufi group was fantastic, and I hope that this will be on par, even though the venue seems to be less suited for dancing (like in not at all - can you dance in a church? I might just give it a try).

ps. One of the children also handed me a copy of “لوسر دمحماللها Muhammed, Guds sidste sendebud” (links to a PDF) - I’ll read it - even though I’m sceptical of the content.

The booklet is available in most major languages from Islamhouse.com - and now seems like a good time to study الإسلام and the القرآن again.

pps. The quote below is true to Islam, again in my book ;-).

[2.112] Yes! whoever submits himself entirely to Allah and he is the doer of good (to others) he has his reward from his Lord, and there is no fear for him nor shall he grieve. ‏بَلَىٰ مَنْ أَسْلَمَ وَجْهَهُۥ لِلَّهِ وَهُوَ مُحْسِنٌۭ فَلَهُۥٓ أَجْرُهُۥ عِندَ رَبِّهِۦ وَلَا خَوْفٌ عَلَيْهِمْ وَلَا هُمْ يَحْزَنُونَ ‎
balay’ man ‘ʔaslama wajhahuw lil:ahi wahuwa muḥsinunm falahuwʔ ‘ʔajruhuw ʕinda rab:ihiy wala’ xawfun ʕalayhim wala’ hum yaḥzanuwna (I hope this was correct, I’m not proficient in Arabic).

Salaam Aleikum and happy Ramadan.

15 minutes to go…5 years since Mohammad Atta shouted Allah Akhbar and slammed into the WTC, focused on Jannah and the waiting virgins, and the Church doesn’t have Wi-Fi.

A selection of today’s headlines:

• The Internet is evil because the terrorists are using it to co-create terrorism manuals.
• The problems of the Middle East are bigger than ever, but who cares about the people of Lebanon.
• Danish forces are engaged in Afghanistan and Irak, we’re good at killing people
• Anders Fogh thinks that Denmark is weak when it comes to foreign policy…We need to do more! OMG!!! Denmark is the 51st State!
• Documents with lab results from the police investigation regarding the terrorism case from Odense has been found laying around in the open!
• RFID tags, great Big Brother is watching!
• Oh it’s so sad for the poor New Yorkers that lost their business! Well others lost their lifes! As far as I could tell when I was in New York in 2004, the New Yorkers aren’t exactly suffering.

Who do you believe? Our media? Their media? Your media!

It’s time to take back what’s rightfully ours, our constitutionally guaranteed freedom of expression.

Forgive me I have to pray, pray for humanity, the jury is still out, but are we going to make it? Only if we wake up!

WAKE UP!!!

And my keyboard switched to Arabic!

Amen!

SLAM!!!!!!

And because the Church doesn’t have WiFi, I can’t access the Sacred Texts Library, to meditate on Surat 2.112, I’ll have to write it down in my own words:

“He who worships his Lord and is a doer of good shall fear nothing!”

Alahu Akhbar…SLAM!!!!

Hey my cell-phone and Google to the rescue…Surat 2.112 al quran…Yielded this page:

The Birth of Islam

It started out with quotes from Al-Quran most of them hinting a violent side of Islam, with quotes like this:

Surat 9, Al Taouba, “Repentance; The Immunity-Dispensation,” verse 29:

[9.29] Fight those who do not believe in Allah, nor in the latter day, nor do they prohibit what Allah and His Apostle have prohibited, nor follow the religion of truth, out of those who have been given the Book, until they pay the tax in acknowledgment of superiority and they are in a state of subjection.

This means that Islam must conquer Jews and Christians, and if after being conquered they do not convert to Islam, then they must pay a tribute (head tax). You would either have to convert, or pay an “infidel tax.”

I was quite sceptical, what was the point? But I actually found the correct Surat 2.112 (my all time favorite quote from Al-Quran):

[2.112] Yes! whoever submits himself entirely to Allah and he is the doer of good (to others) he has his reward from his Lord, and there is no fear for him nor shall he grieve. ‏بَلَىٰ مَنْ أَسْلَمَ وَجْهَهُۥ لِلَّهِ وَهُوَ مُحْسِنٌۭ فَلَهُۥٓ أَجْرُهُۥ عِندَ رَبِّهِۦ وَلَا خَوْفٌ عَلَيْهِمْ وَلَا هُمْ يَحْزَنُونَ ‎
balay’ man ‘ʔaslama wajhahuw lil:ahi wahuwa muḥsinunm falahuwʔ ‘ʔajruhuw ʕinda rab:ihiy wala’ xawfun ʕalayhim wala’ hum yaḥzanuwna (I hope this was correct, I’m not proficient in Arabic).

Surat 2.112 is as far from fundamentalism as you can possible get.

Then the text suddenly become much more interesting, and turns into a rather full historical account of the “Birth of Islam”. Very interesting indeed sitting in a Danish Church reading this historical account of the “Birth of Islam” on the 5th anniversary of 911 on a cell-phone using Google, including sentences rendered perfectly in Arabic script. This was not possible to do 5 years ago, there’s still hope for humanity.

BTW the bible quote of the day was from the Letter to the Galatians. Paulus basically says “remember: the ‘books’ aren’t written by men!”…Hmm…I don’t agree - the ‘books’ are inspired, spiritual and ‘eternal’, but they are indeed written by men.

I lit all the candles in the “globe” in the Church and prayed some more for humanity. Too bad that the “bowl” with Bible quotes for contemplation were nowhere to be seen! But I welcome that this tradition has reached Denmark, I saw it in Lund 2 years ago, and actually I prayed for it to be adopted in Denmark. My prayers were heard it seems.